Brothers Conflict
by WhiteTigressWarrior
Summary: Po is having a serious problem regarding his feelings for a certain someone and doesn't know how to deal with it. And things got far more complicated when he reunited with his real family where he and his brother have a fight all because they fell for the same person. PoXTigress.
1. Strange behavior

**My first ever story! Yay! Hope you guys like :D**

**I don't own Kung Fu Panda.**

* * *

**Strange behavior**

_**Student's Barracks, 5:00 am**_

Tigress awoke before the morning gong had the chance to ring. Stretching her arms up, she got up and made her bed. But there's nothing to take care of anyway. Her bedding arrangements are made up of only a single pillow and a blanket, all in red color.

She proceeded down the corridor and was planning to take her bath early. She didn't want to shower together with Viper cause last time they did, the snake tried to pour a bottle of perfume into her tub. Tigress shuddered. Thank goodness she avoided that. Otherwise she would have smelled like flowers.

As she passed by the kitchen, Tigress noticed that the locks were taken out and there were strange sounds coming from inside. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as her warrior instincts immediately kicked in. She leaned against the wall beside the unlocked entrance, sliding closer and closer. And then in one quick move slammed the door open snarling at the intruder.

"GAH!"

A large panda fell into the ground with a loud thud, landing spread-eagled across the floor.

Tigress paused in mid-motion. "Po?"

Po looked up at her smiling sheepishly, crumbs all-over his mouth. "Hey."

Tigress sighed. Of course. Who _else _would be intruding the kitchen this early in the morning? She smirked and raised an eyebrow at the panda. "Your sneaking Monkey's almond cookies again? You do know that if he finds out that you're the one who's been taking them he's going to get really mad, and might try to remove your paws?"

"Not that he's going to find out that _I'm _the one who's been taking them, right?" Po said as he stood.

"That is, if I won't tell..." Tigress grinned wickedly. She chuckled when she saw Po's pale face and drop the half-eaten cookie he had on one paw. "Don't worry, I won't."

Po released a heavy sigh. He looked at her curiously. "Where were you off to?"

"I was supposed to head to the bathhouse," she replied, "but since I'm here, might as well have some tea." She went towards the cupboards and fetched herself a cup and a tea pot. "Would you like some?" she asked over her shoulder.

Po scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. Some tea would be nice."

She shrugged and resumed preparing the tea. Po took a seat as Tigress walked to the table carrying a pot of green tea. She poured the two cups and she offered one to Po. She caught him staring at her."Is...something wrong?" she asked.

"Huh - What?" Her voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"You were staring. Is there something on my face?" She placed a paw on her cheek, searching for the object that caught Po's attention.

"No! Nothing's wrong with your face!" Po exclaimed, panicking.

Tigress was slightly taken aback by his outburst. His eyes were wide with fear, sweat trickled down his forehead and he was breathing hard. Po was acting weird. She decided to sit and drink her tea. No words were spoken to them while they enjoyed their tea. Po was slurping aloud, obviously nervous, but Tigress decided to leave him be because she might trigger another panic to the panda like moments ago.

She grabbed the teapot to pour herself another cup when she caught the panda's eyes one her again. Po quickly looked away as soon as she noticed him staring at her. Tigress filled her cup then brought the teacup's brim to her lips as she spoke, "Po, I can tell that something is bothering you. Tell me what it is."

"Huh-What? Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" he stammered.

"Po don't lie to me."

Po raised his paws up. "Really. Nothing's bothering me. Tigress you do - "

He froze in mid-sentence when she gave him "the look". He gulped and gave the serious tiger a nervous smile. "Tigress, nothing's wrong," he insisted.

"Po..." she warned.

"GAHHH!"

Po couldn't hold it any more. Alarms in his head went off and he quickly ran outside the kitchen as if his tail was on fire.

By the look on Tigress' face she was clearly shocked by his sudden departure. She was left there, wide-eyed and jaw-slackened as she gazed at the door where Po had taken off.

"Hey! What's with all the racket? It's 5 o'clock for Pete's sake!"

All four members of the Five appeared in the doorway. Mantis was the one who yelled and he was perched on Monkey's shoulder. The primate was rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes while Crane and Viper gave a deep yawn.

"Tigress?" Viper said as she spotted the feline at the table holding a cup of tea. "What's going on?"

Tigress cast her gaze to her reflection upon the watery surface of the tea inside the cup. "Honestly, I don't know myself."

_**Down the village, one hour later...**_

Mr. Ping hurriedly descended the stairs as soon as he heard the rapping on his door. He adjusted the noodle hat sitting atop his head and smoothed his robe before opening the door. The old goose was a little surprised to see none other than his son. "Po?"

Po raised a paw to greet his dad. "Hey dad," he said weakly.

Mr. Ping was confused why his son was hear this early in the morning. He hadn't even opened the shop yet. But nevertheless he was happy, and Ping rushed forward to give his son a warm hug. "It's so good to see you, my boy!" he exclaimed happily.

Po smiled a little as he hugged back. "Good to see you too, dad."

Ping already picked up the lack of fondness in his tone of voice. He pulled away and looked at the panda's face in concern. "Is there something bothering you son?"

Po was quiet for a few seconds as he stared to the side at nothing in particular. Sighing tiredly, he looked at his father. "Just...a lot of things going through my mind." He admitted.

Mr. Ping looked sadly at his son. He didn't like it when Po was unhappy because it makes him unhappy as well. But he always knew how to cheer him up. Ping smiled, grabbing Po's paw and he started leading him inside the house. "C'mon, son. How about some breakfast? I'll make the noodles extra special just for you!"

Po smiled. "Thanks dad. But I think I might need to wash up first. Didn't really take a bath when I left the palace. Hehe."

"Yes, yes, of course son. Well, you go on and take your shower while I make the noodles.

Mr Ping had finished making his famous noodle soup when Po was done with his bath. But instead of eating breakfast with him, Po requested if he could take his meal upstairs to his room. Mr. Ping approved of course, but he wondered what were the things that were troubling his only child that made him act like this.

Po sat on his bed and shoved the whole content of the bowl into his mouth. In one large gulp, it was all down his throat. He placed the bowl into the windowsill next the Master Tigress action figure. His gaze lingered.

Tigress...

He picked up the wooden figure and examined it. A smile crept into his lips as he gazed down at her mini-Tigress. Who would have thought that before, he used to think that she was so hardcore she wasn't capable of feeling any form of emotions? Boy, was he wrong! She's a great warrior who always takes things seriously, an honorable fighter and an amazing leader. But what amazed him more was that under that iron-jawed exterior, is a very compassionate person and a true friend.

He reached for the carving's cheek and caressed it with his claw. He glared. He couldn't believe he made this sorry excuse for a wood sculpture. Tigress _does not _ look like this! She had deeper eyes, a more serious look and she stood tall and proud like the jade mountain!

Not to mention she was prettier. Much, much prettier. Beautiful, gorgeous and breath-taking! The thing did her no justice. It was an utter insult, a disgrace! Master Tigress deserved better.

Po gagged. Groaning in frustration, he flopped into his bed spreading his arms to his sides. "What in the world is wrong with me?"

Po didn't really understand. Ever since they came back from their last mission, he had been having strange feelings. And these feelings always confused him, and it was frustrating! He couldn't focus, it was always elsewhere, lingering on one person only. And that person, he didn't know why, is Master Tigress.

Po shifted so he was on his side. He sighed. "And here I thought I mastered the whole inner peace thing."

"Po?"

Po looked towards the doorway and saw his father standing there, fidgeting his feathered fingers as he looked at him worriedly. Ping walked to his side and sat beside him. He placed a wing on his panda son's arm. "Is everything alright son? You've been...acting strange."

Po sighed lying his head back as he stared at the ceiling. "I don't know, dad. There's been a lot of things that's bugging me. And I don't know what to do about them."

"Why? What are these things that had been bothering you?" Mr Ping asked softly.

Po slowly sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. He hesitated for a moment. Then with a sigh he said, "Have you ever experienced a time when you can't keep someone out of your head? All you do is think about this person...and you can't focus on anything else?"

Mr. Ping gaped at his son. He blinked twice and cleared his throat as he tried to hide the building joy inside him. He already know what Po was going through. "Since when have been going through this, son?"

"Since we got back from our mission yesterday?" Po replied. He slammed his paws on his head lightly. "Argh! I just don't know why!"

"Tell me, Po. What happened on that mission that had you acting this way?"

Po sighed and began telling the story. "Well, we received a letter to help a town in Lanzhou with some bandit problems..."

* * *

**Well? What d'you guys think? Is it worth continuing? Please let me know!**


	2. New feelings

**Thanks so much for the review guys! I hope I can do well in writing this story.**

**Enjoy this chapter! :D**

* * *

**New Feelings**

_**Five days ago, in a lake somewhere in Lanzhou **_

"Po are you okay?" Tigress asked as she sat down next to him.

Po looked up at her wanting to lie. But he knew he couldn't because Tigress has this uncanny ability of knowing whether something was amiss. He decided to tell her. "I keep having dreams about my dad - my REAL dad, that is." Po paused looking at the sparkling waters of the lake. "He was in this village along with other pandas. And they were living happily, except for my dad who seemed to feel like something is missing."

"How can you tell?" Tigress asked.

"I heard him say so. But the weird thing is, when I tried to come to him, he didn't see me. Like I was invisible..." Po paused again, plucking out a leaf from a plant beside him and played with. He continued, "then suddenly, dad started walking to me. I thought he finally noticed I was there but then he just ran through me! Like I was a spirit. And instead he greeted this other panda, and then the dream just stopped there."

Tigress didn't say anything as she looked at Po's saddened face. She knew that despite that the panda had achieved inner peace, he was still bothered by what happened to his family. Tigress knew how that felt. But she at least was fortunate enough not to know what had become of her biological parents. whether they were good or bad.

She put her paw on his shoulders trying to comfort him. "Maybe it's a vision? Telling you that somewhere out there, your father is still alive and is waiting for you to return."

Po sighed tiredly, bowing his head. "But they're all dead? Shen wiped out the entire panda population."

"We are not sure," Tigress said. She squeezed his shoulder and gave him an assuring smile. "Maybe there are some that survived."

"A big 'Maybe'," Po countered.

Tigress bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. She really was never good at conversations, but she was a decent enough conversationalist. She moved her paw on top of Po's. Smiling when he turned to her in slight surprise. "Whatever that dream is I'm sure you will soon discover its meaning. You could talk about it to Master Shifu when we get back. Perhaps he could be of help to you since he's used to having visions in his dreams."

Po just stared at her as she smiled at him. How strange, Po had seen her smile many times before but this time it seemed...different. Not the smile, but the way he felt towards it. Yes, before it brought some warmth inside him but this...this type of warmth was unlike any other. It was soothing, relaxing and joyful. What was happening?

Tigress suddenly stood up snapping him off his trance. But he didn't take his eyes off her.

"We should get back to the others. We still need to plan how we're going to beat these bandits." She began making her way to where the others were. Po was still a bit dazed, staring at Tigress' retreating form.

Shaking his head, he followed after her.

The attack strategy didn't take long to plan. They will first find the hideout of the bandits and when they do, they're going to wait until nightfall when all the bandits are fast asleep then take the fighting into action.

They will be going in teams. Monkey and Mantis, Crane and Viper and then Tigress and Po. Each pair will find a good hiding place and wait for Tigress' signal to attack.

Po stared at the dozens of tents all around the clearing where a lot of bandits of different races occupied. Some were sitting at one place sharpening his weapon or simply resting, others were rummaging through bags which they had obviously stolen while some walked around the place as if looking for someone.

They hid themselves in different places planning on ambushing the bandits. He and Tigress were hiding behind the leaved of a tree.

Po glanced at Tigress, noting the fierce determination carved on her face. Her eyes looked so intense, so focused so alluring. Especially the way she brought eyebrows together, squeezing those golden-ruby cores like a pair of red-hot coals in a roaring fire.

A smile began to spread across his muzzle as he continued to stare at her. He was too preoccupied by his own thoughts that he didn't even hear her speak to him.

"Po, we need to get closer to them so we can...Po?"

No answer.

Tigress swung her head towards her companion. She furrowed her brows when she noticed how unfocused he was. "Po!" she whispered.

Po's green eyes blinked erratically as he snapped out of his reverie. "Yeah, yeah. What?"

Tigress gave him a stern look. "Focus, Po. We need to get closer to the bandits so that in our attack, we won't make too much commotion, resulting to a huge fiasco. We need to be subtle."

"Subtle. Right. Got it." He said submissively.

Tigress didn't look away just yet. She locked with him as if to study him. Po was starting to get nervous, his heart hammering against his chest. He offered her an awkward smile.

Tigress finally sighed. "Alright. Let's go."

That was weird. Really weird! What sort of thing came over him that made him act like that? When Tigress held his hand earlier that day he felt something inside exploded. And then when he stared into her eyes he experienced that same feeling again.

As Po stalked across the clearing towards the bandit's tents, he was pondering over the manifestation of new feelings inside him. Strangely, these feelings are triggered by Tigress and the panda didn't know why?

Has something changed between them? Has their friendship made a sudden change? Why was everything so different all of a sudden?!

Tigress dashed to a nearby tree, Po followed her lead. Crane was hovering overhead, a shadow to everyone's eye. Monkey was hanging on a tree branch on the opposite side of the clearing. Viper slithered behind a rock near one of the tents and Mantis zoomed to hide behind a stump that one of the bandits used as a chair.

Tigress glanced to her comrades one by one and nodded. But their plan to attack was suddenly stopped when a wolf came out of the tent where Viper was hiding. The warriors ducked lower. Viper hissed and waited for the bandit to get five paces away. Then lashing out her tail, she grabbed his leg and dragged him back. She quickly slithered to his muzzle and wrapped her tail around, stopping him from alerting his gang.

"Hey Dun! What's taking you so long?" Another wolf came poking his head out the flaps of the tent, seeing Viper encircling the wolf, Dun, in her coils. The one in the tent gasped, and shouted. "Intruder!"

"Crap!" Viper cursed.

In less than a second, the entire bandit horde rushed out of their tents like disturbed bees.

Viper threw the wolf at the group of bandits heading her way, knocking them out. Po, Tigress, Crane, Monkey and Mantis leapt out of their hiding places and readied a battle stance. They went into separate directions as the enemy began charging at him.

Po brought his fist to the front when a bear tried to punch him. He grabbed his wrist and twisted it, making him yelp, and then kicked him hard on the stomach. The bear smashed to a couple of his comrades.

Tigress scissor kicked the sword of a boar then delivered a powerful kick to his snout that sent him back a few meters. Her ears twitched and she ducked just in time to avoid a spear aiming at her. She snapped back and spotted her attacker, a wolf. The wolf tried to run but she was already in front of him before he knew it. She sent multiple punches to his chest and one powerful blow that hurtled him towards one of the tents.

Viper and Monkey were tag teaming as they fought their own share in the enemies. Crane fought with airborne attacks, while Mantis was everywhere zipping here and there.

The bandits were pouring in like sand. In the corner of his eye, Po spotted Tigress having a hard time. He began to worry that she might hurt herself. He fought his way towards her, thinking she needed his help.

"Tigress!" Po yelled.

Tigress looked at him a gave him a reassuring smile, but then her eyes widened. "Po look out!" she warned him.

Po was confused. He turned around, but then something hard and solid hit him across the cheek and knocked him to the ground. A croc just hit Po with his hammer. He hissed at the panda, raising his weapon for another attack at Po.

Tigress pounced at him, hissing angrily. In three seconds flat, the croc was already lying unconscious on the ground. Tigress turned to Po and knelt on one knee. "Po, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, fine," Po replied while rubbing his smarting cheek. He looked up at her. "What about you? Are you okay? Hurt anywhere? Tell me Tigress so we can treat it immediately!"

Tigress rolled her eyes, but was smiling. "I'm not the one who just got hammered in the face."

Po furrowed his brows. "Still, Tigress, we - "

"Po, I'm fine," she insisted. "Jeez, what are you so worried about? I can very much protect myself."

Po blinked as he stared at her. That's right... Tigress didn't need anyone to protect herself cause she is very capable of doing that herself. If there was anyone who needed protection it was him. Po always got himself into trouble, and most of the time it was Tigress who bails him out. Like their latest mission, when they battled against Lord Shen. She was the one who tried to save him back in Shen's factory. She was the one who shoved him out-of-the-way when the evil peacock shot them with his cannon.

And not only that, she was the one Po mostly opened up to. Yeah, the others were also good companions but he felt mostly comfortable when he's with the tiger master. Mostly because he can relate to her, and she to him. He hadn't truly acknowledged it, but Tigress is always there for him.

Always.

"Po?"

Po swallowed a lump in his throat. Startling Tigress when he stood up all of a sudden and rushed past her towards the other bandits.

It took about fifteen minutes when they've completely subdues the enemy. They rounded them all up, tied their hands and feet and let the authorities of the town to decide their punishment. The headman thanked them, and offered a reward. But they declined.

Soon, they were on their way back to the Valley. Tired, but satisfied.

"Man!" Mantis exclaimed. "We're getting a lot of distress calls lately."

"Tell me about it," Monkey said. "I mean, last week we helped three villages having bandit problems too. Will we ever get a break?"

"Probably not," Crane said. "Life of a warrior."

"Whatever. Hey, Po, how about you whip us up with some of your special noodles when we arrive?" Mantis called over his shoulder...and received no reply. "Po?"

The Furious Five all stopped, turning backwards to see Po ten paces away. He looked sad about something. They exchanged glances and waited for the panda to keep up. "Po is something the matter?" Viper asked, her face concerned.

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Po answered dully. He wasn't about to tell them. He couldn't tell them. What will he say? That his suddenly developing strange feelings, that are completely foreign to him? And that these feelings were because of Tigress; because he suddenly found her very attractive?

_Wait what?!_

Not to mention so alluring. Was it her eyes? Or maybe the way she smiled at him?

_Ugh! Stop it!_

"Are you sure?" Viper asked again, to which he nodded once in response.

"Okay." They didn't sound convinced, but pressed no farther.

They continued to walk. The Five were chatting among themselves while Po kept his distance, not wanting to engage into any conversation about his strange behavior. He lifted his gaze from the ground and focused on Tigress.

What was with him? Why can't he stop thinking about her?!

* * *

**I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. I know you are looking forward to a really great chapter that will thoroughly explain Po having new feelings for Tigress. Sorry. **

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


	3. In love?

**Aw, thanks so much for all the reviews guys! They brighten up my day when I read them. :D**

**Enjoy this new chapter :)**

* * *

**In love?**

"You've had dreams about your...real dad and never told me about it?" Mr. Ping sounded hurt.

Po pleaded with his eyes. "Don't change the subject dad," he said softly. "I know that if I tell you about it you'll probably get hurt."

Mr. Ping sighed and decided to leave the matter.

After a little pause, Po spoke again. "When we got back, she was still in my mind! I think about her all the time, even while I'm training! For two days straight Tigress always invade my thoughts. I can't eat. I can't sleep. It was..." he let out a frustrated sigh, and then he continued. "I try my best to act normal and I even tried to ignore it! But...nothing's happening! Something's changed between us and I don't know what!"

Po looked at his father with a lost expression. "What am I gonna do dad? I don't have a clue why I'm suddenly having these feelings for Tigress!"

Mr. Ping chuckled. He patted his son's paw with a knowing look on his face. " Oh, son. This is really quite simple! You are simply developing a certain admiration /affection to Master Tigress."

Po furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But I have always admired her! And yeah, I do love her like I love you, Shifu, the rest of the five, the Valley of peace, China and Kung fu!"

"No, Po." Mr. Ping shook his head, a very proud smile stretched across his bill. "I think this sort of love is deeper than what you feel to me and the rest."

Po stared at his dad's beaming face. What did he mean by deeper? Deeper than what he had felt towards her before? What sort? What was the new feeling?

Then like lightning, it hit him. Po's eyes shot open and his entire body stiffened at the realization that dawned on him. "Wait...you think that I love, Tigress? As in...love, love?"

Ping laughed softly, nodding once.

Po's eyes looked like they were going to burst out of their sockets. What? He what?!

Then the panda threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" He snapped his head to the Master Tigress poster hanging on the wall then whirled to face his dad with an amused expression on his face. He pressed a paw on his chest. "I..._love_ Tigress?! HA HA HA!That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

_I've heard much more ridiculous things from you, Po; especially in your sleep. _Mr. Ping wanted to tell him that, but thought better of it. He looked with confusion at his son. "Why so, Po?"

Po held up one finger. "Well, for one thing, she's a tiger and I'm a panda. How can I possibly fall for her when we're two completely different species?"

"Is there a rule that in order for one to love another they have to be the same species?" Mr. Ping asked rhetorically.

Po felt a slight tingle when his dad uttered the word 'love'. He held up a second finger, pretending to ignore his dad's question. "And we're practically best friends."

"Po, a girl and a boy can never be just friends forever," Mr. Ping said softly. He chuckled when Po dropped his paws and slumped his shoulders, giving up on denying what he was feeling. The goose's eyes roamed all over Po's room; then bowed his head and sighed. "My little boy has finally fallen for someone! Ah, what joy! I can finally have the grand kids I always wanted."

His dad's last statement nearly gave Po a heart attack. He sucked in a breath as he clutched his chest, his eyes as huge as dinner plates. "Geez, dad!" Po squeaked. "Don't say that!"

"What?" the goose raised an eyebrow. "I can hope, can't I?"

"How can you talk about grand kids?!" Po panicked. "It's not like Tigress and I are an item?"

Mr. Ping gave him a knowing smirk, leaning closer to Po as he propped his wings on his waist. He winked. "Not yet, you aren't. Ah, Po, why are you so worked up about this? So you like Master Tigress? Big deal!"

"Daaad!" Po whinned.

Mr. Ping feigned shock."Oops. Did I say you _like her?_ Sorry, I mean _love_ her."

"Dad!"

Mr. Ping laughed at Po's flustered state. "Come now, son, I was just teasing. But really, Po. What's wrong with it? You should be proud!" He leaned closer to him again and jerked his brows up and down mischievously. "And I do say son. You have excellent taste. Master Tigress is a very lovely woman!"

Po blushed madly.

"This you have finally become a full-fledged man!" He beamed.

Po was about to protest, but the last thing his father said cause his mind to a halt. "Wait. Full-fledged man? Are you saying that I wasn't already a man before?"

Ping gave him an apologetic look. "Um, forgive me. That came out wrong."

Po sighed exasperatingly, and flopped back to his bed. He stared at the ceiling. "This conversation went just like when you gave me 'the talk' when I was fifteen."

Mr. Ping suppressed a laugh.

After the talk with his dad, Po went back to the Jade Palace. He mounted the stairs and maintained a slow, but steady pace.

Shifu would probably be mad because he didn't show up for morning greetings. And he surely would need to explain himself to Tigress for him sudden departure earlier that morning.

Sighing tiredly, his concentration shifted to his thoughts about the said Tigress.

Po drew his brows together. He loves Tigress? Seriously? He loves her? How did that happen?

She was his friend, his best friend in fact. And yes he had always admired her. Who didn't. She was a great warrior, an excellent leader and a great friend.

_And she's beautiful_, his thoughts wandered. Especially the way her lips curl into a smile and her eyes glow...

"AAAAARGH!" Po threw his paws in the air. "What is the matter with me!_"_

"Po?"

Po stared at the one who called him. He blanched. It was Master Shifu. He hadn't even noticed that he had reached the top of the stares. He was too preoccupied with thoughts about Tigress.

Shifu gave him a very stern look. "Where have you been?" he asked, calmly yet strictly. "You weren't present at early morning greetings nor did you join us for breakfast."

Po was frozen stiff while Shifu scolded. But he managed to compose himself. He scratched the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly. _You better come up with something before you face Shifu's wrath! _his inner voice told him

"Yeah. Um.I came down to see my dad to talk about...stuff," Po answered lamely.

Shifu arched an eyebrow. "What did you talk about?"

Po gulped. "Stuff." He answered with a shrug.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Guy stuff."

Shifu narrowed his blue eyes at the panda. Both of them stared at each other. Po was trying his best not to flinch, any move would be considered a confirmation to what Shifu might be suspecting.

Shifu finally closed his eyes, releasing a breath through his nose. Po smiled in relief. "Fine. I'll let you slip just this once. Proceed to the Training Hall. You will be sparring with Tigress today."

Po stiffened. He bowed to Shifu and marched straight for the Training Hall. "I'm sparring with Tigress. Great." He muttered.

* * *

As Master Shifu approached the Hall of Warrior, he heard flapping sound behind him. The old master already knew who was approaching

Zeng landed carefully on the floor with one foot, his other one holding a wooden cylinder.

"Master Shifu," Zeng bowed.

Shifu nodded as he acknowledged the gesture. "A message, Zeng?" he said as the goose handed him the cylinder.

"Yes, sir. The sender didn't name himself to me when he gave me the scroll. But he said it was important - very important - and should be read immediately."

"Hmm. Very well. You may go now, Zeng."

Shifu walked towards the Moon Pool, eyeing the wood vessel curiously. He opened the lid and pulled the scroll out. He read it.

Shifu dropped the letter and it clattered to the floor. "What?"

* * *

**Did you like chapter 3? I know it's short, but please let me know. **


	4. The letter

**Chapter 4! YAY! I would love to thank all you guys for the reviews!**

* * *

**The letter**

_Alright, Po, keep it together. Don't lose focus...don't lose focus...don't...lose...focus! _

Po took a big breath before entering a battle stance. He and Tigress stood across each other in the middle of the courtyard. The rest of the Furious Five were standing on the sides as spectators. They were already done training and had sparred with each other.

"Are you ready?" Tigress asked with a smirk, moving into her usual stance: one hand stretched forward the other poised behind her head.

Po smiled at her, a little nervous. Wait why is he so nervous? He'd sparred with her dozens of times. Why was he suddenly so nervous in her presence?

"Begin!"

"Huh—wait!" Tigress attacked before Po was ready. She threw punches and kicks that he had a hard time blocking. He delivered a punch to her stomach but she successfully dodged it. Then he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer and elbowed her, hitting just below the ribs.

Tigress winced slightly. She tried to strike Po with her free hand, but he caught it too. His fingers tightened against her wrists; she was trapped.

She narrowed her eyes at Po, who smirked at her in return.

_Ha! Let's see her wriggle her way out of this one!_ Po thought triumphantly. His eyes only caught a glimpse of their attached paws but the effect was instant. Po's world made a sudden halt, and he felt a loud throbbing in his ears.

They were holding hands...

Wait...they held hands before! And none of those moments made him feel like there were butterflies in his stomach!

Po had only paused for five seconds, but it was enough for Tigress to take advantage of him. She twisted her entire body in place, surprising Po and made him let go of her.

Tigress then back flipped and landed behind Po. She snapped her leg hitting him on the back. Po landed on the ground on his face.

Tigress exited her battle pose and helped the panda on his feet. "Good fight, Po." Tigress said with a small smile.

"Will I ever beat you in a fight?" Po chuckled.

"You just need to train some more." Tigress smirked. Some dirt was clinging to the fur of his cheek. She reached a paw forward and dusted it off.

As soon as her fingers touched his face, Po froze, his heart hammering against his chest. But he didn't say anything that will probably make things more awkward for him.

Tigress drew her paw back when she was done. "Um, thanks," Po said sheepishly.

Tigress nodded in response.

An uneasy silence fell upon them for a moment. Po stared down at the ground feeling his face heat up. Then Mantis broke the silence.

"Let's grab some lunch guys!"

"Mantis," Crane interceded. "It's only about 11 at this time of day," he said upon inspecting the position of his shadow in on the ground. "We won't be eating lunch until 12."

"C'mon! We're done with training!" Mantis exclaimed. "And I'm hungry!"

"We need Master Shifu's approval first." Crane said firmly.

Mantis groaned aloud. Then he muttered, "If I don't eat now, my stomach is going to have to eat itself."

Crane turned to the path that leads to the Hall of Warriors. "Now let's go ask Mast—Master Shifu!" He nearly shouted when the red panda master suddenly was in front of him.

All the warriors immediately bowed with respect to their master.

Shifu's tiny paws were tucked behind his back. He eyed each of his student, but his gaze lingered most on Po. "Training done?" he asked.

"Yes, master." Viper replied. "We were on our way to the Hall of Warriors where we thought you were meditating." She paused for a second. "We were going to ask if we may have our lunch before 12 o'clock."

Shifu sighed. He had made his students _too _submissive. "Students, you need not my permission if you wish to have your meal earlier that the time I imposed for it. You are already masters. But yes. You may have your lunch if you want."

"Thank you master." They said together, bowing simultaneously.

"Except you, Po."

Po looked up to stare at Shifu. "Me?"

Shifu nodded. "Yes. There is...something we need to discuss...alone"

Po was confused. Why only him. He followed Shifu as the five left for lunch. He stole a glance at Tigress who he caught staring at him and Shifu curiously. Probably wondering what Shifu wanted to talk to him about.

Shifu lead him to the peach tree. A few tiny peach blossom petals fell on them and flew with the wind. Shifu wasn't making eye contact. He instantly became worried.

"So...what are we going to talk about?" Po asked tentatively.

Shifu lifted his gaze at last. His blue eyes stared at his green ones with slight hesitation. "Po," he began, "I have received a message."

Po thought this was going to be another mission, but said nothing and let Shifu continue.

"The letter concerns you and it is something personal."

Personal? Po was perplexed. "Who is it from?" he asked.

"Your," Shifu hesitated. "Your father, Po."

Po raised an eyebrow. "Dad? Why should he send me a message when were not that far from each other? And I was there just a few hours ago. Did he forget to tell me something?"

The pained expression on Shifu's face worried the panda. Did something bad happened?

"No, Po, it's not from Mr. Ping." Shifu pulled his hands behind him and presented the scroll he received from Zeng to him. "It's from your real father."

Po felt like he had just experience a heart attack. He knew that was not possible because he was too young, but that was what the shock felt like. He almost fell on his tail. "WHAT?!"

Po grabbed a paw-full of fur on his chest. He could feel his heart drumming inside his ribcage. A letter from his father? His real father?!

Po's eyes trailed on the scroll Shifu held in his small hands. He gingerly grabbed it, his paws shaking. He stared at it in disbelief. This message was really from his father?

"Read it, Po." Shifu said softly.

Very carefully, Po unrolled the scroll and read the content.

_To Master Shifu, Grandmaster and caretaker of the Jade Palace, _

_Sir, let me start by introducing myself. I am the village headman of the Heaven's Sanctuary in the province of Shanxi. I'm sure that the name sounds foreign to you, but I assure you the place does exist. As the name implies, the very village is a sanctuary for my people whom an evil, tyrannical ruler had tried to massacre. His name is..."_

Po's heart skipped a beat and his eyes doubled in size.

_"... Lord Shen._

_We are those that survived the bloody pilgrimage of the wicked Lord Shen, and we are very few. We plan to gather all giant pandas in the empire to come and live with us so that we can protect one another if danger such as what the peacock put us in. _

_I have just recently heard that a panda currently resides in a place called Jade Palace, in the Valley of Peace. Master, I strongly believe that this panda, Po Ping, is my long lost son. _

_I wish for him to return with me and the rest of the surviving giant pandas in China._

_Very Truly Yours, _

_Ang Déshèng_

Po didn't speak after finishing reading the letter. He was staring blankly at the scroll in his paws with a hundred thoughts running through his mind.

Shifu breathed through his nose and walked beside the panda, his hands tucked inside his sleeves. "Po," he began softly, "I know this is big news for you." He closed his mouth when he saw Po's green eyes brimming with tears. "Po..."

Po's legs finally gave in and he fell on ground on his tail, his eyes glued still to the message on his paws. "I...I can't believe this... There…there are pandas that are still alive?" he said breathlessly. "And one of them is my real dad?"

"I know this is a little overwhelming for you, Po—"

Po cut him off. "A little? I nearly had a heart attack!" he exclaimed. He read the letter again, a bright smile appearing on his face. "My real dad is alive? He's…he's…He's alive! Master Shifu he's alive!" The smile slowly faded when he read the words on the last line. "And he wants me back..."

Po turned towards Shifu, but the red panda looked away in sadness. "Does this means I have to leave?" he said.

* * *

**Ha?! A letter from his real father? Po's real father is alive?! But is Po really leaving?**

**Remember to review guys! **


	5. Promise

**Damn. I update fast. :D **

**To all wonderful mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day! Remember to make your mommies know and feel you love her!**

* * *

**Promise**

_**Kitchen, 15 minutes after Po's talk with Shifu…**_

"Are you serious?" Monkey asked, nearly shouting.

Po shifted his place on his chair, looking slightly uncomfortable. He stared at the shocked faces of each of his friends across him at the table. He sighed. "I guess."

He had already expected this kind of reaction from his friends. How to deal with those reactions that he did not know.

"What if it's a trick?" Viper said; and she secretly wished that it is.

"I don't think anyone would joke about this matter," Tigress replied for Po. She skimmed through the letter again, then sighed and rolled the scroll as she finished.

"But what if it is?" Viper insisted. "This could be some set up to make Po leave the Palace and lead him into a trap!"

"Could be," Crane said. Viper smiled at him for his support.

"Well," Po began, and everyone at the table turned to him. "I think I should still go and meet him."

"But Po..." Viper wanted to disagree, but the panda cut her off.

"Viper, what if everything on that letter is true? What if this —" he pointed at the scroll in Tigress' paws "— is really from my real dad?" His eyes softened as he smiled warmly. "This is my chance to actually meet him." Po bowed his head and stared at his paws on the table. A look of hope crossed his features. "My one and only chance."

He felt a paw on his shoulder. Po looked up and saw Tigress' understanding smile. And again, there was that feeling. "Po, this is exciting news for you, we know. And we are happy for you But..." she glanced at Viper, Mantis, Crane and Monkey's sad faces and looked back at him, locking eyes with him. "...this is a bit alarming if it means that you have to leave."

Po sighed, and pleaded with his eyes to her. "Yeah, I know. But Tigress, I'm only meeting him to see if he is real and—"

"Po," she cut him off. "If this Ang Déshèng really is your father, do you think that he is going to let you go if you two reunite?" she asked him.

Po bit his lip. "I guess not. I'm pretty sure that he'll gonna want me to stay." As much as he wanted to meet his real parent after how many years, Po didn't want to leave his friends and family behind. They were too precious to him.

He sighed in frustration and looked deeply into her eyes. "But I don't wanna leave you, because I love you!" Tigress' eyes widened slightly at this proclamation and so did his. She removed her paw from his shoulder and Po could sense her tensing. He panicked and immediately added something that'll cover it up. "All of you, I mean."

To his relief, he felt Tigress relaxed a bit. "Your all really great friends and you're like my family now. But..." he trailed off.

"...Ang Déshèng is your real one," Mantis said. "We understand buddy."

Po smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Mantis."

The Five cast their eyes to the ground, sad at the thought that Po is going to leave. What if he never returned? What if he goes to live with the other pandas for the rest of his life and abandon his life as a kung fu warrior?

Nothing is more important than family. That they know. But friends are as much as important. And they couldn't imagine life without him. His arrival in the Palace made wonders for everyone, especially Shifu and Tigress.

They didn't want to lose him because no one out there will be able to take his place in their lives.

"Well okay," Viper sighed. "You deserved to be with your family, Po." The panda smiled warmly at her, and the serpent returned one of her own with equal warmth.

"Although, you might want to talk about this to your dad—I mean, Mr. Ping," Crane suggested.

Po looked away. "I probably should. But he won't be too happy about this."

After telling the Five about the letter, Po went down the village again to talk with his goose father once more. As he walked by the streets, a bunch of people greeted him with hellos and bows of respect. Po returned the gesture cordially.

The Noodle Shop was full of people when Po got there. All of them were ecstatic when he entered the shop, but not as much as Mr. Ping was.

"Po!" Mr. Ping gave him a loving hug. When he pulled away, he looked up at him with a joyful smile. "What brings you back here son?"

Po almost didn't want to tell him. He just looks so happy, and he didn't want to ruin that. But his dad has the right to know. "Um, can I talk to you for a moment?" He glanced at the people all around him. "Alone?"

Mr. Ping gave him a knowing smile. "Of course, Po. Come, come—into the kitchen!" He gestured for him to follow.

When they were in the kitchen, Po leaned back against a stack of crates. He wasn't sure how to start.

"So, you came for some advice, eh, my boy!" Mr. Ping smirked, jerking his eyebrows.

"Huh?" Po was confused.

Mr. Ping placed one wing on his waist and held up one finger as if he's giving his son a lesson. "Now listen well, Po. You might want to try a different approach with Master Tigress. I'm guessing she's not the type of woman who—"

"Wait—what are you talking about, dad?!" Why were they suddenly talking about Tigress?

Ping raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Aren't you courting Master Tigress and you came to me for some advice on how to effectively woe her?"

Po's cheeks burned as he turned scarlet red. He waved his paws frantically. "What? No! That's not what I came here for!"

Mr. Ping sighed in disappointment. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

Po took several breaths to calm his heart rate. After a moment, he glanced intently into his father's eyes, hesitating a little. "Uh, this morning, Shifu received a letter."

"Uh—huh." Mr. Ping nodded.

"It was for me."

"And?"

"And...It was from my dad—not you — but my..." He gulped nervously. "My real dad who is a panda like me." Po finished.

The shock that fell on Mr. Ping made him fall on the floor on his butt, his beak falling open. Some pans clattered to the ground when he accidentally bumped on them. The costumers outside were startled.

"Y—your f—father? Y—your real father?"

Po bit his lip. "I know this is a little sudden, dad."

"What did he say?" the goose asked hastily.

Po's heart broke at the distraught look on his goose father's face. "He said...he wants me back. And..."

Before he could say anything else, Mr. Ping's eyes were already welling up with tears. The goose brought his wings to his face as he cried silently.

"Dad—dad! Aw. C'mon, dad, none of that!"

"Oh, Po. You're going to leave me!" Mr. Ping sobbed.

"No, dad. I'm not going to leave you. I'm just going to meet my dad—my real dad, that is—and well, I guess we'll be having a reunion and stuff like that but I'm not going to leave you."

Mr. Ping continued to cry.

Po sighed. He stepped towards his father and shook him gently. "Please, dad, don't cry. You're gonna make me cry too."

Mr. Ping looked up at his son who was smiling affectionately at him. "I'm not going to leave you dad," he told his father ever so gently.

Ping sniffed a couple of times, his eyes pleading. "Promise?"

"I promise." Po crossed his heart.

"Oh, Po..." he sounded like he was going to cry again.

Father and son then shared a hug. Mr. Ping hugged Po like there was no tomorrow. Po embraced him as tightly as he dared, smiling lovingly. Mr. Ping sniffed.

"Do you still want those tips?"

Po chuckled.

* * *

**Poor Mr. Ping :( **


	6. Po's decision and spicy tofu

**WOW! Thanks for all the reviews guys :D Love each one of them.**

**Enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

**Po's decision and spicy tofu**

_**Later that afternoon...**_

Po left the noodle shop when he was sure that his dad had calmed down. But he had helped him with cooking first, something he thought that will cheer up his dad. And it did. Mr. Ping said that it was like old times. And afterwards he went back to the palace.

When he reached the top, he headed for the Hall of Warriors where Shifu was probably meditating. He wanted to tell the red panda of his decision. As Po reached the sacred hall, he wasn't expecting the Furious Five to be there too.

Master Shifu was the first to speak. "How did it went Dragon Warrior?"

The Five must have told Shifu about his plan to tell his dad; that's how Shifu knew where he went. Po sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Pretty good. Though, dad kinda broke down, but he understands. And he respects whatever decision I'll make."

"Then what is your decision?" Shifu was smiling secretly, but Po didn't really acknowledge it because he was worried of what they will react to his answer.

Po was silent as Shifu and the Five waited for a response. He closed his eyes for a moment. And when he opened them again, they were filled with determination. "I'm going to meet him," he declared. "I want to see my real father."

Po was expecting for his Jade Palace family to look a bit down. Seeing them smiling and looking happy for what he had decided was the last thing on his mind, but it was still expected. "Well then," Shifu said with a smile as he clapped his tiny hands, "you should start packing your things. We leave in exactly Five o'clock tomorrow."

"Wait—We?" He glanced at them one by one. "You're all gonna go with me to meet my real dad?"

"That's right!" Mantis pipped in as he hopped from Monkey's shoulder and across the floor towards Po's shoulder. "We're gonna be there when you and your dad are gonna get all mushy an' all."

"Mantis!" Viper warned.

Po laughed softly before looking at Shifu with a worried expression. "But who will guard the Valley while we're all gone?"

Shifu smirked. "I've already contacted a few Kung Fu schools in the neighboring provinces while you came down the village again." He pulled a scroll from within his sleeve and held it up for Po to see. "I have just received correspondence from Lee Da Academy. The headmaster will send some of his best students who will be watching over the Valley of Peace while we are away."

Po's eyes softened. _Wow, they really planned everything_. He felt his heart soaring as he glanced at their faces. "Really guys? You're all coming?" His gaze stopped at Tigress, and she nodded with an accompanying sweet smile.

A warm feeling enveloped him. "Thanks guys." Po them stepped forward to scoop them all into a group hug, except for Master Shifu who escaped the sweet gesture.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Shifu didn't continue the training that time to reserve their energy for tomorrow's journey. Shifu had a letter ready for Po to give to his father to tell him that they were leaving.

Po retreated to his room to prepare. As he gathered materials to put in his travel bag, felt a little guilty for leaving his dad. He wanted to let him come along, but there was no one to look after the noodle business. And he was slightly worried as well that if his dad and his real dad were to meet each other, a problem might arise between two parties.

With a sigh, Po looked at the few things he wanted to bring: extra pants, a bowl, spoon and chopsticks, some pots and pans for cooking, and of course the most important one of all, lots and lots of food.

And speaking of food, Po's stomach growled. He gave it a little pat. "Just a minute buddy." He put all his things into the travel bag then quickly headed to the kitchen for dinner.

As he entered the kitchen, only one person was there. A small part of him was annoyed, but the larger part of him was utterly ecstatic because he gets to be alone with Master Tigress.

"Um, hey," Po greeted the tiger as he stepped inside the room.

Tigress gracefully swallowed the food in her mouth before looking up at Po with a smile. "Hi."

Silence.

_Okay, this is awkward._ Po thought as he scratched the back of his head. He went to grab his own meal and seated himself on the chair across her.

Tigress continued to eat her tofu and he also ate his noodles, being as quiet as possible. He stole glances from her stripped face from time to time, and his cheeks flared up. Po felt his stomach do flips at the fact that they were alone. Yes, they had been alone on several occasions, but Po hadn't had this feeling during those times. This was proof that he indeed has a crush on Tigress...or maybe he was indeed in love...

Po suddenly choked on his noodles. He coughed and pounded his chest with his fist.

Tigress was startled and she immediately became worried. "Po are you okay?"

"Fine," Po wheezed. "Just had a crazy thought."

Tigress raised an eyebrow. To his relief, she didn't ask anything else, and continued eating.

Once again an uneasy silence fell upon the both of them. Po couldn't bear it, so he decided to start a conversation with her. "So er...Tigress, how come the others aren't here?"

Tigress lifted her gaze to him. "Well, they decided to eat on this restaurant Crane found when he went to get new caligraphy brushes the other day."

"Master Shifu is okay with it?"

"He came with them."

There was a brief pause before Po asked, "Why didn't you go with them?"

Tigress took another bite of her food before answering. "I just didn't want to."

"Um, okay." This is very awkward. He wanted to keep up the small talk but he didn't know how. His eyes trailed on the plate of tofu Tigress is eating from. There he got the idea.

"You really love tofu don't you?" he said with a smile.

"Yes," Tigress replied. "Would you like some?" She held up the plate for Po.

The panda rubbed his paws together. "Don't mind if I do!" He never turns down an offer of food. Po took a tofu cube and popped it in his mouth. He chewed heartily, savoring the food. But suddenly his chewing slowed down as he felt something peculiar in his mouth. Po stopped completely and his eyes widened.

His tongue was burning!

"Hot! Hot! Hoooot!" Po scramble for water. He spotted the cup beside Tigress' plate. He quickly snatched it and poured all the contents in his mouth.

Tigress stood abruptly from her chair, panick written all over her face. "No - Po don't!"

Too late. Po's eyes widened the size of noodle bowls and he could practically feel the smoke coming out of his eyes, ears and nose. His entire face flared red-hot as his eyes began to water.

He spat the hot tea from his mouth. He fell on the floor on his knees and he started to fan his mouth like mad. "GAAAAHHH! It buuuuurns!" he yelled.

Tigress quickly grabbed the pail of water in the sink and handed it over Po's flailing arms. The panda grabbed the pale and poured the entire volume into his burning mouth. Po took heavy gulps of air and he rubbed the wetness from his eyes. He stuck his tongue out. "Damn. That was hot."

Tigress gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I should've warn you I put chilly peppers in the tofu."

"You spice your tofu?!" Po gaped.

"I like spicy food," she said in a matter-of-factly way.

"Now you tell me," he croaked.

Tigress chuckled. She took a clean sheet hanging on cupboards and gave it to Po. The panda took the offer and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Sorry, Po." She said as she helped him up.

"Nah, it's fine." He smiled awkwardly. "I just need to remind myself that if you offer spicy tofu again, I need to have a bucket of ice with me."

To that statement, Tigress laughed softly.

* * *

At exactly the next morning, Shifu, Po and the Five left the Jade Palace. The sun had not risen yet and the sky was still a bluish-black color with one or two stars twinkling less brightly than if it was the evening hour.

It took them about 20 minutes to reach the bottom of the one thousand-step staircase. It would have been less, If Po hadn't asked for breaks once in a while.

As they strode across the streets of the village, all the houses were dark and the doors and windows were all closed. But there were some people who were up early in the morning, cleaning the front of their houses or taking out the trash.

They passed by the Noodle Shop. Po glanced at the sealed doors and windows. He imagined his dad in there, lying on his cot but was not asleep. Probably thinking about him, and worried for him.

Once again, he felt guilty at having to leave him. He wished so badly that his dad could come.

Po sighed and looked on the road ahead.

There was also one thing he was worried about. If Ang Déshèng is real and he is truly his biological parent, how can he keep his promise to his dad?

* * *

**Gah! *hides away* Disappointing chapter...sorry, sorry! I promise to make up for it. The next following chapters will be the REAL start of the story. HAHA! Stay tuned!**


	7. Troubles during travel

**Disclaimer (for the whole story): I don't own Kung Fu Panda**

**Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry this chapter is a couple days late! I had something to take care and I had no time to type this chapter! Thankfully, a dear friend of mine came to my rescue! She wrote this whole chapter for me :D But upon her request, I cannot reveal who she is. And this friend of mine also gave me her idea of a potential sequel for this fic! See? This story isn't even half way through and she already thought of a sequel. It's actually pretty good. And she said if this story didn't succeed, I can always make into a separate story. PM me if you want to know some infos about it.**

**Well, enough of my raving. On with the story!**

* * *

**Troubles during travel**

The rest of the day was spent travelling. The time the sun had risen up the horizon Shifu and his students had already reached the Village boarders and then headed north from there on. By the middle of the day they had reached the Thread of Hope, but before mounting the perilous bridge the Warriors stopped to eat lunch which Po prepared for the group. Crossing the rickety bridge was rather trying especially for the Dragon Warrior. Fortunately for him, the others are there to assist him.

Five hours later they had reached a small town within the province called Hanjin.

Shifu booked three rooms at the nearest inn they could find. Viper and Tigress will be sharing a room, all the males will be in a separate one and so is he, as the red panda preferred to be alone during slumber. Also, Shifu didn't want to deal with Po's snoring and mutterings in his sleep.

Po flopped into his mat inside the room he and the male members of the Five were checked in. He hugged his pillow very tightly. "Man! I'm glad I don't have to sleep on the ground tonight!"

Mantis fell into his own mat, rubbing his legs and pincers into the surface as if he was making a snow angel. "You said it buddy! Ahhhh, sweet civilization."

"How come you get a whole bed to yourself?" Monkey said as he and Crane went into their own bedding areas. "You're only the size of my hand!"

Mantis raised his tiny head and shot Monkey a withering look. "What? You want me to sleep on your hand?"

"No." Monkey replied. "I'm just saying that you should get a bed your size."

"Pfft. You're just jealous that I have plenty of space, and you don't." Mantis taunted.

"Whatever." Monkey waved his hand dismissively.

"Cut it out guys," Crane said as one of his talons grabbed the rice hat from his tiny head and placed it on his bed area. "I know all you are pretty tired from the journey, but that doesn't mean you should start fighting."

"Crane's right." Po said as he settled into a comfortable sleeping position. "We should probably get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us."

But that evening, as the lights were out and everyone went into a peaceful slumber, Po couldn't help but think about the letter Shifu received yesterday.

What if Viper was right? What if it was indeed just a means to lure Po into a trap? And now that the others went with him, they'll be in danger too! And it will be his fault because he was too damn foolish to believe that the message was written personally by his father!

But what if it was from him? If he had refused to put his trust in it, then he would have missed the chance to meet the man who had risked so much for him to escape the evil hands of a power-hungry peacock. And besides, the letter also mentioned the name of Lord Shen. How many bandits out there actually knew about the panda massacre thirty years ago?

Sighing tiredly, Po flipped so he was lying on his side.

I guess I just have to wait and see. Po thought, before falling into a deep sleep.

_**The next morning...**_

The kung fu warriors checked out early to continue their journey for Shanxi. Shifu had no idea how to find the Heaven's Sanctuary Ang Déshèng mentioned in the letter. The red panda's plan was to ask the local citizens of the province for the aforementioned village.

Po's nervousness was getting noticeable. He was quiet all throughout their travel. He never even laughed at Monkey's funny jokes. They grew worried, but spoke nothing for fear that they might make matters worse.

At nightfall, they set up camp in a small clearing inside a forest. Dinner was rather quick, and even then the Dragon was as silent as he was earlier that morning. Viper initiated a casual conversation. But most of time, when a question was asked at Po he would answer "Huh?", "What?", or "Did you say something?"

After the awkward meal, there was a thirty-minute break before Shifu ordered for a quick sparring match between the warriors. It was Monkey against Po, Crane against Tigress, and Mantis against Viper. And afterwards, it was time for bed.

Tigress volunteered to take the first watch. To the feline's surprise, yet visible delight, Shifu accompanied her.

The others placed mats on the ground around the dead embers of the fire pit they made, and went to slumber while the Tigress and Shifu checked the entire area for potential dangers.

There was a certain panda, however, who find it hard to fall asleep because of the many thoughts circulating in his mind; and most of them were negative.

Po simply stared at the stars at the dark sky with both paws cushioning his large head. He hoped that this would tire his eyes out, but thirty minutes had passed and he still couldn't sleep.

He tried counting the stars, reaching up to two-hundred, yet he was nowhere near exhausted. He tried on sleeping in different positions, but it did him no good. He was still wide awake.

"Alright, stop that," Mantis voice rang from the corner, startling the panda.

Po yelped. He didn't know that the insect was awake. "Dangit, Mantis, don't scare me like that!"

Mantis simply ignored Po's statement, and stood up from his tiny sleeping mat and pointed a pincer at Po. "We can't sleep with you making so much noise."

We? The three other members of the Five rose from their sleeping position, glancing at Po with worried eyes. The panda guiltily scratched the back of his head. "Sorry guys."

"Po," Viper said softly, "are you worried about meeting your father."

Sighing, Po looked down at the ground. "Yeah, but that's not what I'm really worried about."

The four kung fu masters scooted closer to the Dragon Warrior, showing him that they were ready to listen. It made Po smile a little.

"I thought about what you said before, Viper," he said and glanced at the snake. "What if the letter was fake? What if this was really a trap, and this Ang Déshèng who claims to be my biological father, is really a phony? Then all of you will be in danger all because I was too naive to know any better."

They were quiet after Po had spoken. The trees made soft rustling noises that shattered that silence. The four members of the Five exchanged looks, then turned back to the distraught panda their eyes worried as ever.

Viper decided to wrap her tail around Po's wrist as an act of comfort. She smiled warmly at him, "Po, we came with you on our own free will. If that message is a sham - which I highly doubt - and is indeed a trick, then it will be our own fault if we were to be in any sort of danger. Not yours." The others simply nodded in agreement.

"But guys!" Po threw his paws in the air. "It will be my fault! If I hadn't let my feelings get the better of me then you wouldn't have come with on this ridiculous quest and nothing bad would have happened to you!"

"Uh-huh. And what if the letter was not a fake, hmm?" Monkey retaliated. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Po challengingly. "What d'you think would have happened if you decided not to go see your dad, when in fact the letter was actually real?"

The four warriors fixed their gazes at the panda, anticipating his answer. But Po just stared back at them. His green eyes darted from one Furious Five to another, his lips slowly pursing and his eyebrows furrowing. Unable to hold the frustration any longer, he groaned aloud. "I don't know! Okay?" Po exclaimed. "It's just..."

Po sighed and flopped back on his sleeping mat. "I don't want to keep on hoping, only to get disappointed in the end."

There was a pause, before Crane spoke next. "Po, listen. I know we have no concrete evidence that this Ang Déshèng is no underhanded criminal nor do we have any proof that he is truly the man who sired you, but one thing is certain. We are going to Shanxi to this Heaven's Sanctuary and find out that this man, is what he claims to be - and!" Crane held up a wing preventing Po from saying anything. "If we are going to get in trouble, we take full responsibility for it. We will not blame you in the slightest."

The other three nodded in solemn agreement. Seeing their supportive smiles and encouraging eyes made Po feel certain. He was very glad to have friends like them. He wanted to give them all hug, but before he could do that he gave off a big yawn feeling tired all of a sudden.

"I guess it's time for us to head back to sleep." Viper said, ushering the three males away from the panda and into their sleeping areas. She went to her own mat, yawned and finally settled into a comfortable curl.

"Um, guys?" Po sat up, interrupting the masters once more.

"Yes Po?" Viper called from her sleeping mat.

He was little nervous of telling them? How will they react o his confession? What if they didn't approve? "There's... also something else I want to talk about."

"What is it?"

Po gulped. "It's about..."He wasn't able to finish his sentence when Shifu and Tigress suddenly emerged from between the trees.

"Why are you all still awake?" Shifu asked as he walked closer to the kung fu warriors.

"My fault, Master," Po confessed raising a paw in the air. "I was making a lot of noise and interrupted their sleep. Sorry."

Shifu stared at the panda as if he was trying to figure something he sighed and said, "Well, you should go back to sleep. Tigress and I have already patrolled the entire perimeter, and we haven't found any potential threat."

"Yes master." His students bowed.

For the next following days, the warriors spent most of the day traveling. Po's wariness at the thought of meeting his biological parent grew more noticeable each day. It showed in his habits. Most of the time the panda was strangely quiet, he always stared into space at nothing in particular, and he never even laughed when Monkey cracked a very funny joke one time. His companions grew very concern, even Shifu. One day when they were resting by a river bank in Ningxia Hui, the red panda tried to make Po speak of his concerns, but the Dragon Warrior brushed the question aside saying that he would rather not talk about it. After that, none of them dared delve further into the matter anymore for fear that they might make things worst. They simply gave Po the space he needed to think things through.

It took them a whole week to reach Shanxi, and an extra day to arrive at Taiyun, the provincial capital. Shifu asked various people for the so-called Heaven's Sanctuary, but no one even knew what the place is. To the citizens in the province, such a place didn't exist.

"Strange," Shifu said after asking another local citizen who gave him the same answer of 'no I don't know where that place is', "the letter clearly said the province was Shanxi. Could Ang Déshèng mistaken it for Shaanxi? No one around this place know this village."

"He could have," said Tigress, her fiery scarlet eyes roaming all over the busy streets. She stepped back when a pair of rabbits - a mother and her child - walk past her. The little one looked up at her with big, astonished eyes. Tigress offered a gentle smile. The little bunny girl waved a small paw at her as her mother dragged her along the road. The tiger turned back to her master, "perhaps we should ask other people. Someone might give us the answers."

They went to a different part of Taiyun and inquired other people. Unfortunately for the six Jade Palace warriors and Grand master, they received the same answer as earlier. Thirty minutes had passed and still no success. Shifu ordered for a little break, and afterwards they'll be going to another part of the province.

_**In a grassy field somewhere in Taiyun, about 3: 45 PM**_

"Ugh! This is pointless!" Mantis said as he flopped into the soft grass under the shade of the tree. "We've been asking countless of people about this 'Heaven's Sanctuary' and none of these folks know this place!"

Viper rested in her coil near Tigress who stood on the right side of Po. The panda seated near the tree, his back against it. Monkey was on his left, balanced on his tail. Crane was next to Shifu, both of them stood.

"How can you expect to find this place right away? Shanxi is pretty big, you know." Crane said.

"But we should have found it by now? What if that letter is a fraud and this Ang Déshèng really is a fake?"

"Mantis!" Tigress, Viper and Monkey exclaimed. The insect shrunk under their voices, and even further when Shifu dealt him with a stern look. "Sorry..." he muttered guiltily.

They all glanced at Po who was staring into space. The panda didn't move and he showed no emotion whatsoever. They felt sorry for him. Po had intensely hoped that he truly will be meeting the man who sired him, to speak with him. But nothing is sure yet, the search is not over. They will keep looking until there was solid proof that this place is unreal or real.

Po sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Maybe...maybe Mantis is right."

"No Po," Shifu said quickly, approaching the panda master with a firm air, clasping his wooden staff tightly. " Until we can prove that Heaven's Sanctuary does not exist, we will keep on looking." The Five nodded in agreement to Shifu's proposal.

Po looked at their faces and couldn't help but smile at their unwavering support. He truly did have amazing friends and master. "Thanks guys."

"Right then!" Shifu exclaimed tapping the ground with the staff's butt. "We better start searching."

They began making their way towards the heart of the capital. As they marched, Po noticed from afar, between the trees that lead to the forest of the grassy field a lone figure wearing a brown cloak, staring at them. The figure retreated into the woods once it noticed Po was looking in its direction. Po furrowed his brows but ignored the figure as he thought it was merely an illusion.

The warriors were back to asking people again. It took them the rest of the afternoon, and by that time they had practically roamed the entire capital and asked every citizen there. Yet no one knew! What's with those people?

Night finally took its dominion and the warriors decided to call it a day. They went to the grassy field they had rested on earlier that afternoon and decided to camp there for the night. Tigress and Shifu built a fire with the woods Monkey Crane and Mantis had gathered, while Po and Viper prepared the noodles for dinner.

During dinner, Po was silent like he had been the previous dinners they've shared since their departure from the Valley of Peace. The Five spoke amongst themselves, Shifu joined in on some occasions hoping that the panda would join in. But he didn't. Afterwards, they unrolled their mats around the dead embers of the fire pit. Like always, Tigress offered the first watch and Shifu joined her yet again. It brought a delightful smile on the tiger's lips.

"Hey Po," Mantis said. "You still up?"

"Yeah?" Po answered.

"Sorry about what I said earlier."

"It's nothing." He sat up and bowed his head sorrowfully. "I'm starting to think that this whole thing with my 'dad' - he made quotation marks in the air -"is a sham. We've been asking people about this Heaven's Sanctuary and no one around here know where it is."

Viper, Monkey and Crane were overhearing the conversation. The three stopped their pretending to be asleep, and joined in with the chat. "Maybe Master Shifu is right," said Crane, "what if it was Shaanxi, not Shanxi?"

"Maybe," Monkey shrugged.

"Well in that in case," Viper smiled encouragingly, "we should tell Master Shifu to go look in Shaanxi, if we can't find the village here in Shanxi."

Po smiled gratefully at his friends. "Thanks you guys."

"Everyone! Hurry and pack your things. We must leave immeiately," Shifu said urgerntly as he and Tigress suddenly came rushing back into their camp. The look of alarm on their faces told the other five warriors that there was trouble.

"What's wrong master?" Crane asked, he and the warriors now in full alert.

"Bandits," Tigress replied. "We saw a whole horde of them setting up camp just a few yards from here."

The warriors hastily packed their supplies back in their bags. Shifu strained his large ears for any indication that the enemy were nearing their location. His blue eyes narrowed as his left ear suddenly twitched. "Make haste, students. Some are -"

He didn't finish his sentence, and he startled his six students when he suddenly launched himself in the air. Shifu moved his arms about as if he was deflecting an attack, but the Five and Po saw nothing!

It was when Shifu fell back to the ground in a kung fu stance that the students saw why he performed those moves. Five long black arrows fell to the forest floor in front of their master. Each one of them gasped in shock. They had not seen those arrows, nor have they heard them saling in the air!

"We have company," Shifu said, his blue eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

Five wolves fell from out of nowhere and surrounded the kung fu masters

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

**Oh yeah, you guys should totally check out Naiatra Equatron's new story, "Life in Bao Gu". It's really awesome and you all are going to like it, especially if your a Tigress/ Shifu father-daughter fan.**

**To Jubjub 250, I'm sorry I haven't read your new story yet. My excuse was elaborated above, but I promise I'll read it once I have the time. Promise! :D**

**Don't forget to review!**


	8. The stranger in the woods

**Hey guys! Thanks for all your awesome reviews! **

**I think I don't deserve the praise for the previous chapter. After all, I wasn't the one who typed it. I suppose you can really tell the difference in writing, huh? I cannot reveal who the friend is, as she wishes to say unknown. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**The stranger in the woods**

Black leather clothing covered every part of the wolves bodies with a bloody red sash wrapped around their waist, only their eyes and tails were visible. One of the wolves bore a bow and arrow, one was holding a broad sword, one a butterfly sword and the other two carried a pudao and a double sword.

Po, the Furious Five and Master Shifu indiviadually entered a battle stance as they faced their opponents.

The wolves looked fierced, like well-trained deadly assassins.

One wolf marched towards the kung fu wariors, brandishing his two swords at his sides as he eyed them calculatingly. "Huh, the Dragon Warrior, Furious Five and the Grand Master himself," he smirked. "What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to the beautiful province of Shanxi?"

"None of your business, punk," Po spat glaring at the wolf. "Now are you going to let us leave in peace or are we gonna have to kick your butts to do so?"

"My, such spirit,"said another wolf, the one bearing the spear, as he walked to stand beside his comrade. He chuckled then said to to other wolf, "This one's mine."

It barely registered to Po's mind that the wolves had already lunged at them. They moved so fast! He ducked when the spear sliced along the air and would have cut his head clean off had he not reacted quickly. He delivered a punch to the wolf's jaw but the assassin successly dodged it by throwing his head back, then he swung his spear underneath the panda's feet.

Po fell on his back, but he immediately rolled upwards as the enemy impaled the ground where he laid flat only seconds before. Po then grabbed the pats and pans in his bag that was resting a foot from their where they battled and used it to shd himself from the enemy's next attack. The wolf grinned at him, and before he can strike another blow, his face made contact with a iron-hard fist and he was sent flying backwards to a nearby tree.

Po looked up and smiled at Tigress, who smiled back at him. His heart soared seeing that smile. He stood and both of them entered a fighting stance.

The spear-bearing wolf stood up and spat out blood. He smiled wickedly towards the pair as he wiped the blood trickling down the corner of his jaw. "Well, I think it's time for me to get serious now that the lovely Master Tigress is joining." He twirled his spear as he readied to make another attack. "This will be most enjoyable."

Crane moved his wings about in front of him to deflect the multiple arrows released by his and Monkey's foe. This wolf was no joke. He can launch five arrows in the air in a rapid succession. He hardly even noticed as the wolf moved. Monkey was thinking the same. Not only that, the wolf was fast - lightning fast! - and agile. He and Crane can't even land a direct hit!

Viper and Mantis were also having their own problems. The wolf, the relatively smallest one of the group, was able to deflect both their lightning-fast strikes! The wolf had sharp reflexes, as sharp as the sharpest sword ever crafted by the hands of mortals. Mantis groaned in frustration when he tried to deliver a solid kick to the wolf's back, the canine immediately brought the hilt of his butterfly sword towards him and he nearly knocked over it if he hadn't quickly withdrew. Then the wolf shot his paw to the other direction, catching Viper by the tail when she tried to entangle him, and then threw her. Mantis quickly leapt to slow down Viper's fall.

Master Shifu wa performing better than his students. His enemy barely kept up with his speed, and couldn't land a punch no matter how hard he tried. It looked like the Grand Master was merely playing with the wolf, and it made the red panda's lupine foe very furious.

However, one of the quartet wasn't not joining the battle. He simply stood a ways away from the battleground watching the warriors and his comrades clash paws and weapon. Judging by how his eyes narrowed, he was clearly studying their tactics when facing combat. He smirked at the sight of the kung fu warriors having difficulty deafeting his team, but he frowned as his eyes met the sight of the Grandmaster outstaging one his comrades. He sighed. It slipped his mind that the red panda was much advanced than his students. He brandished his double swords then leapt to join the fight.

Master Shifu was completely caught by surprise by the appearance of a new opponent. He used the staff to block an attack, and jumped as his earlier combatant swung his sword at him.

Shifu landed in a crouch position on the ground, narrowing his blue eyes at the pair of assassins. Who are they? And how are they so skilled? They're unlike the other assassins they faced before!

Shifu growled under his breath. This won't be an easy fight for them, especially if the bandits he and Tigress spotted starting pouring out of the trees and start attacking them as well...

* * *

The hooded figure peeked out from his hiding place. His deep brown eyes narrowed towards the battle going on. His large dark-furred paw reached under the little travel bag he brought with and reached for a round object. With it's other paw, he raised another object to his lips. Inhaling a vast amount of air, he blew on the whistle-like thing.

* * *

A loud, ear-piercing sound shrieked in the air. All five of the wolf assassins fell on the ground with their paws tightly clamped against their ears.

Shifu's ears sharply dropped against his skull and he let go of the peach wood staff so he can press his ears further against his head. He gritted his teeth as did the wolves. Having an acute hearing, the sound is agonizing.

Po and the Five find it very irritating as well, but Tigress having a much better hearing than they was, like Shifu and the wolves, the sound was torturingly painful against her eardrums.

"Where is that coming from?" Mantis yelled againts the loud screech.

Moments laters, the screeching stopped, but the warriors and wolves handn't recovered yet. A ball of cloth rolled into the ground next the wolf bearing the double sword. He cracked one eye open to stare at it. The ball siddenly exploded, engulfing the canine in a greenish-grey smoke. He covered his nose as a foul stench suddenly reached his nose and his eyes began to water.

More balls soared in the air and errupted in front of the asassins invading their sense of smell with a disgusting odor.

The wolves growled and whined. Po, the Five and Master Shifu scooted away from their opponents and into one area near the trees.

"Who's doing all this?" Po said, his voice muffled by his paws against his mouth.

"I don't know," Tigress replied. "We need get out of here!"

"What about our supplies?" said Mantis.

"Forget about it!" Master Shifu coughed. "We need to leave - now!"

Shifu was the first to dash into the woods. His students followed close behind him.

One of the wolves spotted the kung fu masters retreat. He growled before tilting his head up and gave a loud howl that echoed all over the forest.

Somewhere inside the forest, the horde of bandits stopped what they were doing and paid attention to the howl in the hollow darkness.

It was a signal for assistance. A grey wolf in the group raised its head and howled back.

_**Back with the warriors...**_

They had heard the howl, and for sure it was trouble. Shifu urged his students to hurry. They carried nothing with them, all their supplies packed for travel was left on their camping area. Now thanks to those wolves, they had nothing.

Shifu's ears swerved from one direction to another. He groaned as he picked up the faint sound of rushing footfalls about the forest floor. "Hurry students, hurry!"

The sounds of growls became fairly audible and it surrounded them. Shifu stopped all of a sudden and swung his staff to block his students' path. His ears moved about erratically. He snarled, and lowered himself into a stance. "Someone's coming."

Po and Five raised alarm as they readied for what Shifu said was approaching. A cloaked figure suddenly emmerged from the trees, its face hidden by the hood of his clothing. The stranger was large-very large-perhaps about the size of Po. It stared from either sides as if to check on something before looking back at the seven kung fu masters. He was mostly eyeing Po, seemingly studying the panda. "Po Ping?" the figure said in a deep, male voice.

Po raised an eyebrow, and he shared the same suspicious look everyone of his companion had on their faces. "Yeah, I'm Po Ping," Po answered cautiously.

The strangers muzzle suddenly became visible and they could see the delighted smile on its lips. The cloaked-figure raised its left arm and reached for the hood that concealed its identity. He pulled it off and Po, the Five and Shifu's look of suspicion dissipated, and they all gasped in shock upon seeing the large giant panda that stood before them.

Po was breathless and his heart practically stopped for a moment. He couldn't believe his eyes! Another panda... He couldn't believe that he was staring at another panda! And if there's a panda right here, then that means they had not made a mistake...that means that the Heaven's Sanctuary does exist...and that means that the man who sent the letter, the one claiming to be his biological father is...!

The cloaked giant panda seemed to like their reactions. He smiled, but frowned when he heard the sound of the bandits surrounding them. He spun on his heels, eying the masters with urgency. "This way!"

He headed for north, and the masters close behind him.

* * *

**Haha! They finally met the panda that'll lead them to the Heaven's Sanctuary! Remember to review guys! It might entice me to update earlier.**

**Sorry for the grammatical errors, I'm not an English-speaking person.**


End file.
